Mastermind Behind Honey-Trap Scheme Arrested in Playwright’s Case

 

LAHORE: Police have arrested the alleged ringleader of the gang involved in honey trapping playwright Khalilur Rehman Qamar.

According to a senior official who spoke to today headlines news on the condition of anonymity, Hassan Shah and his accomplice, Rafiq, were apprehended in Peshawar and subsequently brought to Lahore for further investigation.

Previously, on July 21, police had detained a 12-member gang, which included Amna Arooj. The case took a dramatic twist on Tuesday when a video clip emerged on social media, purportedly showing Qamar with a woman.

A police official informed new local updates that the investigation revealed Qamar and the woman were engaged in inappropriate activity when the video was recorded. The woman and her associates were allegedly using the footage to extort Qamar.

Extension of Woman’s Remand

Further investigation disclosed that Qamar may have fabricated the robbery and kidnapping story to retrieve and destroy the footage. The Sundar Police Station had registered a case based on Qamar's complaint, citing charges of robbery and kidnapping.

In a related development, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) extended the physical remand of Amna Arooj for an additional two days. Police had presented Arooj before the court at the end of her previous remand and requested an extension.

The investigating officer argued that the police needed more time to recover the ransom money. When ATC Judge Khalid Arshad questioned Arooj about the money's whereabouts, she indicated it might be with Hassan Shah or Zeeshan, other suspects in the case.

Qamar’s lawyer asserted that Arooj had close ties with the other suspects and was well-acquainted with them. He also claimed that his client was a pious man.

Judge Arshad expressed skepticism about the lawyer’s claim, remarking, “A pious man usually offers tahajjud (night prayers) at four in the morning.”

During the court proceedings, Arooj broke down in tears, stating that her father was ill and that she was the sole breadwinner for her two sisters. She lamented the injustice she felt she was experiencing and expressed a desire to die due to her circumstances.

Arooj alleged that both Hassan Shah, a property dealer, and Qamar had blackmailed her. She added that Shah, who she considered a brother, was aware of Qamar’s blackmail. She claimed that she became trapped between the two powerful men.

She also disclosed that Shah had leaked a video in which Qamar was seen insisting on a relationship with her. Arooj admitted to inviting Qamar to her residence but denied any involvement in a kidnapping plot, which she stated was orchestrated by Shah.

Khalilur Rehman Qamar Speaks Out on Kidnapping Incident: "Doctor Advised Avoiding Sunlight"

In a harrowing turn of events, renowned screenwriter Khalilur Rehman Qamar was allegedly kidnapped, tortured, and robbed in Lahore earlier this week. The incident, which has sent ripples through the entertainment industry and beyond, reportedly occurred around midnight on Monday, July 15. Qamar held a press conference today to speak about the ordeal.

According to the FIR registered at the Sundar Police Station in Lahore, Qamar received a phone call from an unknown number close to midnight. The caller, who identified herself as Amna Urooj, claimed to be a fan of Qamar and expressed a desire to collaborate with him on a TV drama.

Qamar, known for his popular dramas like "Meray Paas Tum Ho" and "Pyarey Afzal," agreed to meet her. He arrived at the given location at approximately 4:40 am, where Urooj welcomed him into her house. However, soon after he sat down, there was a knock on the door, and around seven armed men entered the room. The men conducted a body search, seizing Rs60,000, an iPhone 11, a Bank Al-Habib ATM card, and Qamar’s national identity card.

The FIR stated that the abductors withdrew over Rs200,000 from a separate bank account belonging to Qamar. The kidnappers allegedly told him that they had orders to kill him, demanding a ransom of Rs10 million.

During his press conference, Qamar spoke about his terrifying experience. He explained his reasons for meeting Urooj at such an unusual hour, citing medical advice to avoid daytime outings due to health issues.

“I am sick, and my doctor has strictly told me not to go out during the daytime for five years. Even if he hadn’t said that, we meet people at night, and there’s no difference between meeting men and women. When there’s no objection to me meeting men at night, why should there be an objection to meeting a woman at dawn? Since this happened at 4:40 am, I had not agreed to go at night when I got the call. For the past 15 days, she was pestering me to see her.”

A reporter alleged that Urooj, in her statement to the police, claimed that she and Qamar had been exchanging text messages and pictures for a week. Qamar vehemently denied this, stating that Urooj wanted to be in his drama and that he no longer had a record of the messages.

During the conference, Qamar also made controversial remarks about women in showbiz, possibly as a rebuttal to claims that he fell for a honey trap. “The girls in my field, the kind of clothes they wear and the way they talk, I’ve been seeing that for the past 27 years now. It’s nothing new to me,” he said in response to a reporter suggesting that the woman did not seem the type to be cast in dramas.

He added that he did not know the woman would be alone at home.

A reporter pointed out that Qamar is known for making controversial statements about women, and now that he’s been kidnapped by one, there might be some kind of explanation for all of this.

Qamar struggled to make sense of the connection being drawn between his past statements and the recent kidnapping incident. The press conference became chaotic as reporters cross-questioned him, leading the police to end the event and escort the writer out.

Ironically, following the incident, a 2019 interview of Qamar has resurfaced in which he mockingly suggested that if women want equality, they should consider kidnapping a man — him.

“I spoke to a feminist group about equality. I asked them if they’d ever heard about a gang of men kidnapping a woman. They assured me they have. I asked them why don’t women do the same. If you wish to strive for equality then kidnap men as well. Rob a bus, gang rape a man so that I can understand what you [women] mean by equality,” Qamar said in the video.